Nguyen Ngoc Tho was the first Prime Minister of South Vietnam, serving from November 1963 to late January 1964. Tho was appointed to head a civilian cabinet by General Duong Van Minh's military junta, which came to power after overthrowing and assassinating Ngo Dinh Diem, the nation's first president. Tho's rule was marked by a period of confusion and weak government, as the Military Revolutionary Council and the civilian cabinet vied for power. Tho oversaw South Vietnam's failed land reform policy, and was accused of lacking vigour in implementing the program because he was a large landowner. He was noted for his faithful support of Diem during the Buddhist crisis that ended the rule of the Ngo family. Despite being a Buddhist, Tho staunchly defended the regime's pro-Catholic policies and its violent actions against the Buddhist majority. Tho lost his job and retired from politics when Minh's junta was deposed in a January 1964 coup by General Nguyen Khanh.
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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1828: Kaspar Hauser, a foundling with suspected ties to the Royal House of Baden, first appeared in the streets of Nuremberg, Germany. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspar_Hauser)
1896: The Dow Jones Industrial Average, representing twelve stocks from various American industries, was first published by journalist Charles Dow as a stock market index. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average)
1918: The Democratic Republic of Georgia was proclaimed following the breakup of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Georgia)
1972: U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in Moscow, concluding the first round of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Arms_Limitation_Talks)
1986: The European Community adopted the Flag of Europe, a flag previously adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Europe)
_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:
subsequently: Following, afterwards in either time or place. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/subsequently)
_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:
Thunder only happens when it's raining. Players only love you when they're playing. Say... Women... they will come and they will go. When the rain washes you clean... you'll know. -- Stevie Nicks (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stevie_Nicks)
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